Product Manager Interview: Design an Audio Product for Meta | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Design an audio product that promotes community and bonding through fun and engaging audio experiences.

Key Insights

• 🎵 Audio consumption has been on the rise, with a significant increase in paid subscribers for platforms like Spotify.
• 🎵 Spoken word audio, such as podcasts and books, creates sticky habits in listeners and is a popular form of content.
• 🎵 Audio consumption is a more passive activity compared to video, making it relevant in a post-COVID world where people are on the go.
• 🎯 Meta's mission of bringing people closer together can be achieved through audio products that allow for personal connections and bonding over shared interests.
• 👥 Listeners, creators, and platforms are the key players in the audio ecosystem, but for this discussion, focusing on listeners will be beneficial.
• 👥 Segmenting listeners by demographic (teens & young adults and 35+) and type of audio content (music, spoken word) can help target specific user groups.
• 😩 Pain points for listeners include the need for contextual and proactive audio recommendations, the isolating and boring nature of audio consumption, and the inability to easily share audio content.
• 🚀 Prioritizing solutions like communal listening (listen together) and audio sharing can provide engaging and community-building experiences for listeners while aligning with Meta's mission. Note: Apologies if some points go over the word limit.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How has audio consumption changed in recent years?

Audio consumption has seen a significant increase, with platforms like Spotify witnessing a 50% rise in paid subscribers from 2020 to present. This indicates a growing trend and demand for audio content.

Q: What distinguishes audio from other media forms?

Audio creates sticky habits, meaning that users tend to stick with certain creators or types of content over an extended period. It offers a more passive listening experience that can easily fit into people's daily routines.

Q: How does audio consumption align with Meta's mission?

Meta's mission is to bring people closer together and foster community. Audio consumption plays a crucial role in bonding individuals through shared interests in podcasts, books, and music.

Q: What pain points do listeners currently face in the audio space?

Some pain points include the lack of contextual recommendations, isolation and boredom while listening, limited personal connection with creators, inability to seamlessly transition audio across devices, and difficulty in sharing impactful clips or snippets with others.

Q: What is the vision for the audio product?

The vision is to help people feel closer to one another and create a sense of community through engaging and fun audio experiences.

Q: Which user segment is the product focusing on?

The product is primarily focused on listeners, specifically targeting teens and young adults (12-34) who actively consume audio, with an emphasis on spoken word content like podcasts.

Q: What are the proposed solutions for addressing pain points in the audio space?

The two prioritized solutions are communal listening (listen together) and audio sharing. Communal listening involves experiencing audio content together with friends, akin to the watch together feature on Messenger. Audio sharing allows users to easily share impactful audio clips with others through social media and messaging platforms.

Q: Why was communal listening prioritized over audio sharing?

Communal listening aligns with Meta's existing watch together feature, providing a seamless extension for users. It also addresses the pain point of feeling isolated while listening. Additionally, audio sharing already has some workarounds, making it a slightly lower priority.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Audio consumption has been on the rise, with platforms like Spotify experiencing significant growth in paid subscribers.

• Audio creates sticky habits and offers a more passive and versatile listening experience compared to other media forms.

• Meta's mission of bringing people together aligns well with the idea of building an audio product that promotes bonding and community.